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We encourage comments, questions, and discussions related to the posts. All comments in this blog are moderated. Comments that are solicitations, obscene, vulgar, sexually oriented, racist, sexist, harassing, degrading, libelous, threatening or harmful will not be posted. We reserve the right to deny or remove any comments that we deem inappropriate. If you notice a factual error, e-mail Kimberly Bannigan (kbannigan at deforest.k12. . . ).

You may have noticed a banner at the top of your GoogleDocs home page, inviting you to try Google Drive. Google has added some features to Docs and like the “new look” for email, you have the choice to opt in now or later.

Ever wonder just how many devices might be out there . . . here’s a snapshot of we what see connecting to our wireless network right now (11:00 a.m. on 5-23):

540 devices connected to Guest.

76 devices were connected to DASD-1.

The busiest access points (AP)? You would be surprised by the stats for the last 24 hours. If it’s lunch time at DAHS, those access points are among the top ten. Once lunch is over, the elementary Library Media Centers move up the list. If their iPod Touches are in the library, those devices are on the constant lookout for an AP.

Number of errors? 0. Our software also collects information on AP’s that go down or errors in connecting. All of those were at “0” for the last 30 days.

It’s getting close to June, and the time to start packing up classrooms is near. As you’re thinking about what to do with those paper files, you can also think about what to do with those big digital files. Why not take them with you wherever you go?

Why online photo storage makes sense:

Your photos are safe.

Your photos are accessible from anywhere you have an internet connection.

You can decide how to share your photos and entire albums.

Your files aren’t taking up space on your hard drive.

Sounds like GoogleDocs, right?

Here’s a quick video about online photo sharing. And here is a slightly updated version of how to use Picasa 3 to organize photos and upload them to Picasa Web Albums.

It’s May and that means end-of-the-year projects and assemblies! Students and teachers are creating multimedia projects to share in the classroom, in the school, and with the world. I wanted to pass along some good resources for copyright friendly music and project creation tools that have soundtracks built in.

Q: Someone once told me that we can legally use 30 seconds of copyrighted music for our school projects or presentations. Is this true?

A: You may use 10% of a copyrighted piece of music for face-to-face instruction directly related to your course content. Acknowledging the source of the copyrighted material does not substitute for obtaining permission.

Q: I purchased a song legally from iTunes. Can I not use it in my video at school?

A: No. You purchased the song for home and personal use, not for public or educational use. You do not own the rights to the music; the copyright holder(s) own the rights to the material.

Q: What about for educational use?

A: The Fair Use Guidelines for Education were written in 1997 and have become antiquated by the digital age. Technology is moving too quickly, and the guidelines have not been re-visited in all these years. It is best that 10% of the material used is for related course content, and conducted face-to-face in a classroom setting. By synchronizing with video, PowerPoint, pod-casting, broadcasting, or putting on a website, you are subjecting yourself to a lawsuit.

So what are a teacher and student to do? There are a growing number of resources available that come with their own library of licensed tunes. Use the entire song, use them for public performances, use them for broadcasting online, use them freely—permission is already granted!

Animoto and Photostory have their own built in libraries with hundreds of choices.

Soundzabound is another great resource. It’s available through BadgerLink. Because the state purchased a license so that teachers and students can download all the music, you need to access it through BadgerLink. Just going to soundzabound.com isn’t going to tell them you’re from Wisconsin. Here’s how to get there.

DeForest home page >> For Students >> Student Learning Links >> BadgerLink (toward the top of the page) >> Soundzabound (under ECB VideoLink)

This week’s winner is Bill Porter who completed the TED-Ed flipped video!